Chapter Text
*
🏉
*
Steve had no intention of letting Eddie go. Whenever he was able to, he kept a hand on Eddie: in his hair, in his hand, buried in his pocket. He wanted to show Eddie explicitly that Steve was his, that his heart could never belong to anyone else. They hadn’t said it in words, but Steve knew that Eddie was his boyfriend, and he didn’t plan on that ever changing.
They spent a lot of time around Robin, Nancy, Chrissy and Gareth. It was nice, it really felt like they had their own corner of the world, that anything was possible and there would be no judgement for who they loved. It made his heart ache that it couldn’t be like that all of the time.
“Do you want to come to the cinema with me?” Steve asked, out of the blue. Eddie turned to him with a smile on his face. He hated that he had to shatter that. “My friends will be there. The guys from the rugby team. But not Tommy. He said he was busy and he didn’t want to see the movie anyway.”
“Oh,” the colour drained from Eddie’s face. Steve wanted to kiss it back, but he held off, not wanting to push Eddie too far.
“You can say no,” he offered, chewing on his lip and gently stroking Eddie’s sides.
Eddie shook his head, “No, it’s okay. If Tommy won’t be there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure,” Eddie said with a small, sweet smile. “I’d have to be crazy to turn down a date with Steve Harrington.”
Steve laughed then, loud and bright, filling the room with warmth.
*
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*
“Are you sure I look okay?” Eddie asked again, running his hands over his band t-shirt in an attempt to smooth out the creases. Maybe he should’ve ironed it. It was too late now, they were already at the shopping centre and heading towards the cinema with every step.
“You look perfect,” Steve smiled at him. “Like you always do.”
“Your friends are going to think I’m a gay nerd,” Eddie grumbled, looking down at his feet as he shuffled them around on the floor, kicking at nothing.
“Well,” Steve chuckled, his smile turning into something mischievous. “You sort of are a gay nerd.”
Eddie couldn’t really argue with that, could he? He was a gay nerd, and Steve Harrington wanted him anyway. Despite it, or because of it, he was elated either way.
“And Tommy won’t be there?” Eddie asked again, he’d lost count of how many times he’d asked now. His nerves only climbed now that the cinema was in view.
“He –” Steve started to say, but then a figure stepped to the forefront of the group of people standing outside of the cinema. It made Eddie’s heart lurch in his chest; he felt like he was about to vomit. Tommy stood in front of the crowd, a smarmy smirk spread across his face.
“Well, well,” he scoffed, arms folded across his chest. “It’s Steve and his little friend.”
“Hi Tommy,” Steve ground out. “Thought you weren’t coming.”
“So that’s why you brought along the freak?” Tommy cocked an eyebrow.
Steve stepped in front of Eddie slightly, Eddie was glad, because there was no way he could move. He was frozen in place. “Eddie’s on the rugby team too. He’s our friend.”
“Maybe he’s your friend,” Tommy rolled his eyes.
“Whatever, man,” Steve waved him off. “I want popcorn.”
Steve stalked away, pulling Eddie behind him by the wrist. When they were safely at the counter and Steve had ordered for them both, he turned to Eddie.
“Are you okay?” he whispered, concern written across his face.
“Yeah,” Eddie sighed, but he didn’t think it sounded too convincing.
“I didn’t know he would be here,” Steve frowned. “I swear.”
“I know,” Eddie bit his lip. “Do you think I should…?”
“No,” Steve stopped him, moving his hand to Eddie’s bicep. “Don’t leave. I want you here. Screw Tommy.”
Eddie nodded, “Okay.”
Steve led Eddie to their seats, thankfully at the end of the row, away from Tommy. He almost forgot that Tommy was there, especially when Steve reached across and took Eddie’s hand in his. Steve’s hands were bigger than his own, and the way that they enveloped his made Eddie feel safe.
It was easy to forget about Tommy when they were sitting away from him, but outside of the cinema was another story altogether.
“You coming to my party? My sweet sixteen. Gonna be a pretty big one.” Tommy asked, approaching Steve and ignoring Eddie’s presence completely.
“Uh,” Steve looked between his friends for a moment. Eddie stood behind him, watching him carefully. “Yeah, sure, I’m coming.”
Tommy looked beyond Steve and locked eyes on Eddie, shaking like a kitten behind Steve. “Are you bringing the gay freak?”
“He’s my friend, Tommy,” Steve growled, clenching his fists. Eddie just wanted to run. “So yes. If he wants to come, he’ll come with me.”
Tommy chuckled. It wasn’t like Steve’s chuckle, full of love and light and warmth, it was dark and menacing. “You’re falling so fast,” Tommy shook his head.
Eddie couldn’t do this any more. He had to leave. He turned quickly, stalking away from the group. He didn’t focus on where he was heading, as long as he was heading away from Tommy. He didn’t hear Steve’s reply, but he did feel a gentle hand on his back as Steve caught up to him.
“I’m so sorry, Eds,” Steve grimaced.
“It’s fine. I know he doesn’t like me,” Eddie shrugged.
“He’s an asshole,” Steve said, grasping Eddie’s t-shirt a little more tightly. “He wouldn’t deserve to be your friend, even if you wanted him to be.”
Eddie sighed, shoulders falling. In a small voice, he asked, “Can we just get out of here?”
“Yeah,” Steve nodded, guiding Eddie to the door. “Of course, Eds. Anywhere, as long as I’m with you.”
*
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*
Steve spent the next few days before Tommy’s party absolutely seething. He wanted to tell Tommy off, at the very least, but he couldn’t bring himself to make things worse for Eddie. He’d suggested the idea already, and Eddie had assured him that he didn’t need Steve to lose friends over him. Steve wasn’t even sure he wanted those friends anymore.
He spent a lot of time thinking about how free he felt around Eddie’s friends, especially now that Gareth knew that they were dating. They were able to be open around them, cuddling and leaning into each other and even giving each other gentle kisses. Robin audibly gagged each time, but Steve knew their charm well, and he knew that they were happy for him, just as he was happy for them and their relationship with Nancy.
Every day that ticked over, he dreaded January 11th approaching, dreaded the Saturday that would bring Tommy’s party.
Eddie seemed excited to go, though. He assured Steve that he was okay with it and Steve tried to believe him.
“You know,” Steve said at their movie night, only one day before the party. “Tommy’s house is so big, I think we could avoid him all night if we wanted to.”
“That would be good,” Eddie nodded. “I’m okay as long as I’m with you.”
Steve nodded and pulled him closer.
*
“It’s loud,” Eddie commented as they made their way into the party. They walked together, making their way through the party with a beer in hand each.
“Yeah,” Steve nodded. “Tommy knows that we’d all see through his bullshit if we could actually hear him.”
Eddie snorted at that, a loud chuckle that Steve felt in his body as Eddie shook next to him. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“I always am,” Steve said with a winning smile. Eddie rolled his eyes fondly.
*
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*
They had barely gotten drinks before they ended up eyeing each other hungrily. Eddie wanted to kiss Steve senseless, his cheeks were flushed pink with the heat of the party, he was smiling at every person he greeted, but not as brightly as he gleamed at Eddie. Steve’s hair was flopping slightly in front of his face, and Eddie barely resisted the urge to push it back out of his eyes. Those beautiful hazel eyes…
“I wish I could kiss you right now,” Eddie admitted in a hushed tone, leaning into Steve so that he was the only one who could hear his words.
Steve bit his lip to hide his smile, which made Eddie want to get his lips on him even more. Steve grasped Eddie’s wrist tightly and tugged him away from the party, up some stairs and into an abandoned room. It was down a hallway, hidden away from the main rooms of the house.
“Now you can,” Steve smirked as he closed the door behind them. Eddie heard the distinct click of a lock behind him; he didn’t look, didn’t take his eyes off of Steve as he bracketed Eddie with his arms, pinning him against the door.
“What if someone –”
Steve hushed him with a kiss on the cheek. “No one will. This is the guest bedroom I would always stay in when I would stay here. It doesn’t get used, and I’m certain none of Tommy’s other friends know of its existence.”
Eddie relaxed into Steve’s touch slightly at that. The promise of a kiss was too tempting to turn down, and besides, the door was locked…
Eddie wrapped his arms hastily around Steve’s neck and drew their lips together. It melted all of Eddie’s anxieties away instantly, the only thing that he could think about being the press of Steve’s lips against his own. He’d always assumed that kissing a man would be all rough edges and chapped lips, but kissing Steve was nothing but soft. He wondered if Steve used chapstick or lip gloss in the same way that girls did, whether his friendship with Robin had introduced him to that.
Maybe things would change as they grew older, when they had to deal with shaving and stubble in a way that they didn’t need to worry about yet, at fifteen and sixteen. But for now, Eddie kissed along Steve’s smooth jawline with a reverence that amounted to love.
“Eds,” Steve breathed, almost a whine.
Eddie hummed as he trailed his lips lower, kissing along Steve’s neck. Steve’s whines and moans grew louder, though not nearly loud enough to breach the loud booming of the party music below. He didn’t think about getting caught, all he could think about was the taste of Steve, the smell of Steve, just – Steve.
Eddie’s kisses grew more urgent with Steve’s noises. They’d gotten carried away before, sure. Neither of them were ready for what could be considered more, they’d discussed it plenty of times, but that didn’t mean that everything had remained chaste. Eddie’s kisses turned into nips and bites and sucking at Steve’s neck, right where two beauty marks laid like a little vampire bite on his neck.
He didn’t think about the consequence of what he was doing, couldn’t think about it, he could only think of Steve and the absolute heat that was pooling in his gut.
With one last bite to his love’s neck, Eddie pulled away to kiss Steve’s lips once more.
“Holy shit,” Steve breathed into the space between them. Eddie hummed in response. “Did you – did you leave a mark?”
And, fuck, that hadn’t really occurred to Eddie until then. He knew that his actions could leave a mark, of course, but he hadn’t thought of the consequences of leaving this room while Steve had a very visible love bite on his neck.
Eddie’s eyes flicked down to his favourite spot on Steve’s neck, locking onto the purpling skin immediately.
“Shit,” he whispered into the air of the room, which suddenly felt cold. “I did.”
Eddie was ready to walk out of that room single once more. He knew that Steve wasn’t ready for those questions, he knew that he had been irresponsible. He couldn’t blame Steve really, if he broke up with him to preserve his secret. His identity was his secret to share once he felt ready, and Eddie wasn’t a good boyfriend to force him to dodge those questions all night. Someone was bound to notice Steve’s neck and then –
Eddie was panicking. His breaths were laboured and his eyes stung with the threat of tears.
And Steve –
Steve was laughing.
Eddie frowned at him, attempting to get a hold on his uneven breaths, “Steve, what?”
“Sorry,” Steve said through the laughter. “I can just imagine Tommy’s face when he sees this. Not that he’s going to.”
“And if he does? Or if someone else does?”
“Then I figure something out,” Steve shrugged. “I doubt anyone will care, anyway. Everyone hooks up at parties.”
“Oh…”
Steve stroked along Eddie’s cheek and planted a quick kiss on his forehead.
“So you’re not going to break up with me?” Eddie asked tentatively.
“Break up with you?” Steve’s frown was telling: confused rather than angry. “Why would I break up with you for doing something I wanted you to do?”
“But you – we –” Eddie stuttered until Steve quieted him with a kiss on the lips.
“Baby,” he soothed him, “I’m okay.”
“Okay,” Eddie nodded once.
Steve took his hand and pulled Eddie away from the door enough to unlock it, “Now let’s get downstairs before people notice that we’re gone.”
*
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*
“Steve!” Tommy’s voice called across the crowded room. He felt Eddie flinch next to him, and Steve’s heart was in his throat. “Haven’t seen you all night, are you avoiding me?”
“Why would I be doing that?” Steve asked, allowing a small chuckle to escape from his lips, hoping that he sounded convincing enough.
Tommy stayed quiet for a moment, eyeing him carefully, before his eyes stilled on Steve’s neck. Fuck. “Oh I see,” Tommy mused, a smirk playing on his lips. “That’s where you’ve been hiding. I didn’t know that Nancy was here.”
Tommy seemed to look around for her, before Steve cut him off with a quiet, “I haven’t seen her.”
Tommy’s eyes snapped back to him, “Then who –”
Steve was incredibly grateful when Jason called out Tommy’s name, announcing “We’re playing truth or dare!” and gaining Tommy’s attention enough to get it off of Steve.
Steve turned away from them, ready to get him and Eddie as far away from the commotion as possible, before he noticed Eddie’s wistful look.
“Do you want to…” Steve chewed on his lower lip, wishing Eddie’s teeth were sunk into it instead. “Shall we play?”
“I’ve never…” Eddie sighed. “Yeah, I wanna play.”
Steve rushed to assure him, “We don’t have to. Say the word and we’re out of here.”
“I want to,” Eddie nodded. “It sounds fun.”
“Right,” Steve smiled tentatively at him, before they followed the crowd to the living room.
*
There were maybe fifteen of them sitting in a circle. They listened intently while Tommy explained the rules to them, as if they really needed to know the rules to truth or dare. Though, he supposed, they were playing it with a small twist, an empty beer bottle lying in the circle in front of them.
Steve watched as his friends pretended to make orgasm sounds, or shared whether they were still a virgin or not, with a blush creeping over their cheeks, or whether their parents had ever caught them masturbating. When it was Tommy’s turn to spin the bottle, Steve held his breath, not meeting Tommy’s pointed stare from across the circle.
And then the bottle stopped.
On him.
Steve finally looked up, wondering whether Tommy would really be that spiteful. The smarmy grin on his face answered the question before Tommy spoke.
“So, Steve,” Tommy flashed his teeth when he smiled, predatory and mean. “Truth or dare?”
He toyed with the idea of saying dare, of avoiding the question he knew that Tommy was dying to ask. But, for all he knew, the dare would end up being much worse. At least this way, he could control the narrative, he could…
“Truth,” Steve said with a fake confidence that surprised even himself.
“Who gave you the love bite?”
Steve felt Eddie stiffen next to him. He placed a reassuring hand on Eddie’s knee, giving it a hopeful squeeze. He hoped that Eddie wouldn’t mind his honesty; Eddie was out anyway, so he would only be outing himself.
“Eddie,” Steve said nonchalantly.
“Eddie Munson?” Tommy scoffed.
“Yeah,” Steve squeezed Eddie’s knee again, feeling freer than he ever had. “He’s my boyfriend. Has been for a while. I’m bisexual.”
Tommy scoffed again, louder this time, “You’re –”
“That’s really cool, man,” a guy that Steve recognised from some of his classes, Jonathan, chimed in. “Thanks for telling us.”
There was a chorus of more people agreeing, and soon the game had ended, people once again talking to their friends animatedly. Some people had surrounded Eddie and Steve, commenting on how cute they were, and Steve held on to Eddie the entire time.
He didn’t see Tommy again until they were leaving, still hand-in-hand.
“Harrington,” Tommy slurred, obviously much more drunk than he had been before.
“Tommy,” Steve gritted his teeth. “We were just leaving. Great party, man.”
Tommy rolled his eyes indignantly, “You’re really one of them now?”
“What?” Steve asked, as Eddie drew his hand away. The spite in Tommy’s voice caused his heart rate to spike.
Tommy shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, “Didn’t know you’d turned gay. That’s gross, man. We were in the same changing room.”
“I’m bisexual,” Steve clenched his fists at his side. “I made that pretty clear. And I was never looking at you.”
“Yeah, right,” Tommy shook his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”
“See what?”
“That you’re a pathetic little fa–”
Steve’s fist connected with Tommy’s face before he could finish the word. Tommy punched back, of course, splitting Steve’s lip and coating his tongue with the metallic taste of blood. But Steve didn’t stop until he was being pulled from Tommy, Jonathan’s arms wrapped around his biceps.
“Let me go!” Steve growled.
“He’s not worth it, Steve,” Jonathan soothed him. “Leave him be.”
“But he –”
“No,” Eddie chimed in from behind them. “He’s right, Steve. Let’s go.”
In all of the commotion, Steve had almost forgotten about Eddie. He had stood there as a witness to the whole thing, and now that Steve had locked eyes with him once more, he could see the hurt that flooded his irises.
He hated that he’d put it there.
“Okay,” Steve nodded, voice barely a whisper. “Let’s go.”
*
🎸
*
Eddie was wiping at Steve’s cut lip gently when he finally got the courage to ask him. They’d gone back to Steve’s house; Steve had let them in, telling Eddie that his parents were away again. Eddie was too preoccupied to even ask where they were this time.
“Did you mean it?” Eddie whispered, keeping his eyes on Steve’s lip to avoid looking him in the eyes.
“What?” Steve asked, pulling away from him and tipping Eddie’s chin up. He saw then just how hurt Steve was too. There was pain in his eyes that Eddie hadn’t seen since their fight, and it occurred to him that he never wanted to see it there again.
“Did you mean what you said?” Eddie asked again, nervous and breathless. “That I’m your – that we’re boyfriends?”
Steve laughed at that, only just about wincing at the pain his lip must be causing him. “Well, yeah,” he said, shaking his head slightly at Eddie. “We are, aren’t we?”
And Eddie had thought about it, of course he had. He wanted Steve to be his boyfriend more than anything, but he wasn’t about to push him. Eddie had never had a boyfriend before; he didn’t want to risk losing Steve by having the conversation too soon.
“We are,” Eddie smiled brightly, the words lighting him up from the inside out. “We’re boyfriends.”
“Good,” Steve leaned in, almost closing the gap between them. “Now, can I kiss my boyfriend?”
Eddie nodded, before bringing their lips together. He grazed his lips gently across Steve’s, avoiding pressing too hard on his new injury. It wasn’t as urgent or intense as their kiss in the guest room, but there was something utterly beautiful about it. It contained all of their love, and Eddie had a feeling that the love would only continue to grow.
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” Eddie whispered, only pulling far enough away from Steve to be able to form the words between them. He felt Steve’s lips against his own as he spoke.
“Yeah?” Steve asked, his breath hitching.
“How does tomorrow sound?”
*
🏉
*
Steve wiped his clammy hands on his jeans again, pretending to smooth out the non-existent creases in them. Eddie handed over the small box which he had carried from the store, eyeing Steve carefully.
“Are you sure he’ll like it?” Steve asked, eyes fixed on the small parcel. “Don’t adults usually want, like, wine or something?”
“Wayne doesn’t drink,” Eddie shrugged. “He has a whole mug collection. He’ll love it. Trust me.”
“I do,” Steve nodded, waiting for Eddie to open the door to the small caravan.
He’d never given much thought as to why he’d never been to Eddie’s house; they simply always found themselves at Steve’s house, since his parents were always out and the lock on his door was convenient. But now, Steve was starting to realise why that was, and why Eddie was just as nervous as Steve on their walk over here.
Steve did his best to smile at Eddie, to reassure him that his hesitance was at the prospect of meeting an important parental figure, and not at the sight of his home.
Eddie held onto Steve’s hand and squeezed it tight, so Steve thought that he got the message.
“Uncle Wayne?” Eddie called as he opened the door and crossed the threshold. He had told Steve that his uncle would be home, that he had the weekends off from his night shift and that Sundays were family days. Steve held back his jealousy at the idea of family days.
“Hey kiddo,” a gruff voice called as they entered. “Thought ya weren’t gonna show.”
“Of course I am,” Eddie chuckled, his voice only wavering slightly. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
The older man turned to meet them with a warm smile. It threw Steve off at first; he was thrown off even more by Eddie holding resolutely onto his hand, unashamed.
“This is the lad you’ve been talking about?” The man, Wayne, asked.
“Steve Harrington, Sir,” Steve let go of Eddie’s hand to hold his hand out to shake Wayne’s. He wished that he didn’t have to let go, but he was holding onto the gift with the other hand. Wayne reached out and shook his hand with an amused smile.
“I, uh – we – got you something,” Steve held out the small box tentatively.
“Now, ya didn’t have to, son,” Wayne took it and unwrapped it carefully, smiling wider when he saw the mug. He held it aloft, examining the Gremlins pattern on it intently. “Eddie picked this one out, did he?”
Steve blushed, and Eddie answered “Guilty” with a smile.
“Well, that’s very nice of you both,” Wayne acknowledged them both with a heartfelt grin, placing the mug on a shelf, surrounded by countless others. Steve smiled when he saw the collection, wondering how Wayne still found space for them. It was a nice touch, it gave the small caravan a warm touch, meant that it looked so undeniably theirs. It was the Munson home, not a show home like Steve’s.
“You’re welcome,” Steve mumbled out, eyeing the various patterns of the cups.
“Ya staying for something to eat?” Wayne asked, looking more at Steve than Eddie.
Eddie grimaced, “Are you cooking?”
Wayne chuckled at that, tousling Eddie’s hair; Steve couldn’t help but realise how different it was to how his parents’ reaction would’ve been, couldn’t help but see the love in the gesture.
“I’ll order something, just name the place,” Wayne relented.
Steve smiled, perfectly happy to be accepted into this little family.